Well
then, let Russia put 300,000 troops and missiles on the Canadian
border with America and then say that this is purely 'defensive'

What
will happen then? Think Cuban missile crisis

NATO
force on Russian border ‘not a threat in any way’ – State
Department

Washington
has expressed discomfort over Russia’s deployment of Iskander
missiles and air defenses in Kaliningrad, saying that NATO is a
“defensive alliance”and is not threatening Moscow. Meanwhile,
more tanks and troops are being deployed to the Baltics.

“NATO
is a defensive alliance, it’s always been a defensive alliance, it
will remain a defensive alliance,” State
Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday. “There
is no reason why Russia should view NATO in any way, shape or form as
a threat.”

On
Sunday, NATO kicked off “Iron
Sword 2016” exercises
in Lithuania, the largest such maneuvers to date, involving 4,000
troops from across the alliance. The exercises in 2015 and 2014
involved 2,500 and 2,000 troops, respectively.

“There
is no reason for anybody in Russia to feel threatened by NATO’s
military activities or preparations.” Kirby
continued. “In
terms of recent months and years, there would have been no reason for
NATO to advance and commit additional capabilities on the European
continent – including American capabilities – had it not been for
Russia’s move in Ukraine.”

This
is in line with NATO’s official position that military activities
in eastern Europe were a defensive response to alleged
Russian “aggression” in
Ukraine. NATO said Russia was responsible for “annexing” Crimea
from Ukraine. The region voted to join the Russian Federation in
March 2014, following the coup that overthrew Ukraine’s elected
government.

Moscow
responded to the recent NATO build-up by announcing it would deploy
S-400 air defense systems and “Iskander” missile
launchers to Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave containing almost
one million inhabitants sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

“Russia
is doing all that is necessary to protect itself amid NATO's
expansion toward its borders,” Dmitry
Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told reporters
at the Kremlin on Tuesday. “The
alliance is a truly aggressive bloc, so Russia does what it has to
do. It has every sovereign right to take necessary measures
throughout the territory of the Russian Federation.”

NATO’s
military drill on Russia’s border comes amid preparations to
permanently station 4,000 alliance troops in Poland, Lithuania,
Estonia and Latvia, a decision made at the NATO summit in Warsaw in
July.

A
quarter of the force would be composed of US troops currently based
in Germany, who would relocate to Poland. A 1,000-strong German-led
force equipped with tanks would be deployed in Lithuania in February
for the first time since WWII. The remaining 2,000 British and
Canadian troops would be stationed in Estonia and Latvia.

NATO
has accused Russia of “aggressive
military posturing” over
reports that missiles would be deployed in Kaliningrad, while on
Monday Kirby called for Moscow to “refrain
from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting
security and stability.”

Established
in April 1949 – six years before the Warsaw Treaty Organization –
NATO ensured a permanent US presence in western Europe during the
Cold War. After the dissolution of both the WTO and the Soviet Union,
NATO expanded both its boundaries and its mission. On March 12, 1999,
the alliance admitted the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Twelve
days later, NATO attacked Yugoslavia. After a 78-day bombing
campaign, alliance troops were allowed occupy the Serbian province of
Kosovo as “peacekeepers.”

Bulgaria,
Romania and the Baltic states joined the alliance in March 2004,
putting NATO on the shores of the Black Sea and on the western border
of the Russian Federation. In March 2011, NATO launched an
intervention in Libya, aiding the rebels that overthrew the
government of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.